That raised eyebrow turns a little sardonic at the invocation of the Captain, with an ironic turn to his expression. Being charitable: Stephen thinks Ness is simply answering his question and doesn’t mean to play it like another trump card, but crediting the other woman is a card nonetheless.

Then again, he doesn’t rule out manipulation. He’s seen the way the girl argues.

Another hm, not quite agreeing, not quite dissenting. Moving on: “Point the fourth: We still don’t have penicillin and our dedicated healer is missing. Try as I might, I’m not able to cast Thedosian healing spells. Other mages with the facility don’t have the same grasp that Isaac did.”